Concrete ties

ABSTRACT

A concrete tie is provided with protuberances on opposite sides thereof serving to anchor a pair of one-piece spring-type rail fasteners. Each fastener has a bight tensioned on the protuberance, and a pair of legs extend upward from the bight. The upper ends of the legs are bent to afford extensions which overlie the base of the rail, and bends therein engage the base of the rail with a spring force. The free ends of the fasteners end in hooks, one hook being the complement of the other so that a pair of such fasteners may be complementally joined at the free ends and tensioned one on the other. The protruberances of the tie are under a great deal of compression and are reinforced by bends in a plurality of rodlike stringers embedded in the tie to extend between the protuberances.

United States Patent 1 Novotny June 19, 1973 1 CONCRETE TIES PrimaryExaminer-Robert G. Sheridan Assistant ExaminerRichard A. Bertsch [75]Inventor' Raymond Novomy Sparta Attorney-James B. Kinzer, Thomas E. Bornand [73] Assignee: Abex Corporation, New York, Lloyd kert [22] Filed:Nov. 5, 1971 ABSTRACT [21] APPL No: 196,057 A concrete tie is providedwith protuberances on opposite sides thereof serving to anchor 21 pairof one-piece Related Application Data spring-type rail fasteners. Eachfastener has a bight ten- [62] Division of Ser. No. 9,852, Feb. 9, 1970.sioned on the protuberance, and a pair of legs extend upward from thebight. The upper ends of the legs are [52] U.S. Cl. 238/92 bent toafford extensions which overlie the base of the [51] Int. Cl E0lb 3/32rail, and bends therein engage the base of the rail with [58] Field ofSearch 238/349, 91, 92, a spring force. The free ends of the fastenersend in 238/94, 83, 84, 85, 87 hooks, one hook being the complement ofthe other so that a pair of such fasteners may be complementally [56]References Cited joined at the free ends and tensioned one on the other.U IT STATES PATENTS The protruberances of the tie are under a great dealof 3,368,759 2/1968 Olson 238/83 compr ion and are reinforced by bendsin a plurality 908,765 l/l909 Gabriel 238/92 of rodlike stringersembedded in the tie to extend 1,244,813 10/1917 Williams.... 238/92between the, protuberances. 1,110,198 9/1914' Green"... 238/106 908,7661/1909 Gabriel 238/92 3,337,132 8/1967 Schriever... 2323/32 7 R 4 Clam,Drawmg Flg'll'es 3,065,914 11/1962 Rigby 238/87 CONCRETE TIES Thisapplication is a division of application Ser. No. 9,852, filed Feb. 9,1970.

This invention relates to a reinforced concrete tie and a spring-likefastener to be tensioned on the tie for holding the rail to the tie witha spring force.

The advent of concrete ties in the railroad industry has prevailed forsome time, and there have been constant efforts concerned withdeveloping specialized rail fasteners in that the conventional spike, sofamiliar in the instance of wooden ties, cannot possibly be usedanchoring a rail to a concrete tie. It is of course highly desirable toavoid a rail fastener for a concrete tie which involves drilling a tieor otherwise forming an opening therein in which the fastener is to beanchored. Not only does such alteration of the tie involve a great dealof equipment and labor, it also may cause localized weakening of thetie. Collectively, the various proposals for physically embedding oranchoring a fastener part within a tie may be viewed as involving ascrew or stud which itself may present the rail fastener or which isused to secure in place a separate member presenting the rail fastener.

It is the primary object of the present invention to develop a fastenerwhich in no way requires a physical alteration of a concrete tieincidental to anchoring a fastener to the tie, and more specifically theprimary ob ject of the present invention is to develop a rail fastenercapable of being tensioned on the tie incidental to being operativelymated to a fastener of like form also tensioned on the tie, the twofasteners in their tensioned state presenting parts bearing with greatspring force on the base of the rail.

As another statement of the invention, it is an object thereof to hold arail to a concrete tie by means of two fasteners of spring form having apair of free ends in complemental hook engagement, statically loadingthe rail with a spring force produced by tensioning the fasteners onprotuberances cast integral with the tie.

Other and further objects of the present invention will be apparent fromthe following description and claims and are illustrated in theaccompanying drawings which, by way of illustration, show a preferredembodiment of the present invention and the principle thereof and what Inow consider to be the best mode in which I have contemplated applyingthat principle. Other embodiments of the invention embodying the same orequivalent principle may be used and structural changes may be made asdesired by those skilled in the art without departing from theinvention.

IN THE DRAWINGS FIG. l is an end elevation showing two fasteners,constructed in accordance with the present invention, securing a rail toa tie, and taken on line 1-1 of FIG.

FIG. 2 is a side elevation on line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view on the line 3-3 of FIG.

FIG. 4 is an elevation on line 4-4 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 5 is a side elevation of a fastener constructed in accordance withthe present invention;

FIG. 6 is a top elevation on line 66 of FIG. 7;

FIG. 7 is an elevation on line 7-4 of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is an end elevation on line 8-8 of FIG. 7; and

FIGS. 9 and 10 are perspective views showing stages of assembling thefasteners to hold a rail in place.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a railroad tie 10 of concrete supports atraffic rail 11, the tie having a recess 10R therein in which isdisposed a resilient tie pad 12 on which the base 13 of the rail sets.The tie pad may be of any preferred, essentially elastomericcomposition, but is advantageously provided with depending or downwardlydirected end lips 14 which overlap marginal portions of the outer facesof the concrete tie at the end limit of the recess 10R, whereby endwisemovement of the tie pad is limited.

The tie pad itself is provided with an upwardly opening recess 12Rcharacterized by a pair of longitudinal side lips 16 which neatlyembrace the edges of the rail base. Accordingly, the recess 10R in thetie may be of some standard dimension, and in the event that the railwayis characterized by rails having bases with unusual width, it is onlynecessary to vary the thickness of tie pad lips 16 to neatly fit thebase of the rail.

It may be noted additionally that the concrete tie is reinforced withrods R of the usual kind, and as will be explained in more detail below,a reinforcing grill 20 of unusual construction is also provided.

In accordance with the present invention, the rail is secured to the tieby a pair of one-piece fasteners or clips 25, each of identicalconstruction, having free ends in complemental hooked engagement withone another as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and in accomplishing this, thefasteners are preferably of silicomanganese spring steel, tensioned onprotuberances 26 projecting outwardly from the front and read faces ofthe tie, the protuberances 26 being molded integrally with the tie.

Each such fastener 25 embodies several different bends which are bestdefined by visualizing the fastener as disposed substantially in anupright position as shown in FIG. 5, and in terms of a plane PL, FIGS. 1and 5, which includes the vertical axis VA of the fastener, FIG. 4.Referring for the moment to FIG. 4, each fastener includes a pair oflegs 30 equally divergent from the axis VA and joined at their lowerends by a bend or bight 31 having a profile complement to the undersideof the protuberances 26. In this instance, the underside of theprotuberance 26 is convex, such that the bight 31 is curved upwardlyuniformly on each side of its bisector point NP, with the legs 30upwardly divergent therefrom, substantially of V-shape. All bends andcurves in the fastener may be defined in terms of progressive movementupward and outward from the bisector point NP along the axes of the legs30.

In the installed state the bight'31 of the fastener, FIG. 2, embracesthe corresponding convex curve 26-1 at the underside of the relatedprotuberance 26, and the legs 30 have the inner surfaces thereof inengagement with upwardly divergent side surfaces 26-1 of each relatedtie protuberance.

In the installed or operative state, the two legs 30 and the bight 31which joins the legs lie in plane PL, and this is equally true of thefastener or clip in its free state, FIG. 5. As shown in FIG. 4, each ofthe legs 30 at the upper end thereof terminates in an intermediate bight32 which commences well outboard of the base of the rail.

Each intermediate bight 32, progressively, bends in ward toward the axisVA at 32A, FIG. 4, for about of bend and then, at 32B, FIGS. 1 and 3,extends both downwardly and rearwardly out of the plane PL for aboutanother 90 of bend. The rear extension of each bight 32 merges into aterminal bight 34 and 35, respectively. The terminal bights 34 and 35extend generally along axes parallel to the rail, overlying respectivesides of the rail base, FIG. 2, and as showing in FIG. 1 the low part ofeach bight 34 and 35 is adapted to engage the upper face of the railbase.

Each of the terminal bights 34 and 35 has a hook at free end thereof,but the hooks are of slightly different configuration so that one willfit or clasp the other in a complemental fashion. Thus, and referring toFIGS. 3 and 4, the free end of the bight 34 is characterized by aninwardly bent arcuate hook 37, bend inward toward the axis VA, whereasthe free end of the bight 35 is characterized by an upwardly bentarcuate hook 38. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 the books have concave faceswhich nest in one another.

In associating the fasteners 25, and referring to FIG. 9, it shouldfirst be noted that the construction is such that one of the legs 30 ofthe fastener in its free state, say the near leg 30, FIG. 9, may be heldin the hand, and the far leg moved under the protuberance 26 to presentthe intermediate bight associated with the far leg to the base of therail on the far side, just as the intermediate bight 35, FIG. 9, is inengagement with the base of the rail on the near side.

This operation is repeated with the second fastener, FIG. 10,interlocking the hooked ends, except that the second fastener has itsbight 31 displaced outward of the related tie protuberance 26. Thus, atthis stage of installation, the left-hand fastener 25, FIG. 10, may beviewed as disposed in its ultimate operative position, anchored in itsprotuberance 26, whereupon a sturdy prise or crowbar or similarlyeffective tool is interposed between the bight of the right-hand, loosefastener and the underside of the tie protuberance 26. Leverage is thenapplied to gradually move the loose or fee bight 31 into lockedengagement with the underside of its protuberance 26, thereby anchoringthe second fastener. A force of 800 to 1,000 pounds is required toeffect the lock, and in the course of final motion, anchoring bothfasteners, the two fasteners are under such great tension as to causethe hooked ends to be distorted from their free state, FIGS. 4 and 5,substantially into a true horizontal position (hook 37) and verticalposition (hook 38) shown in FIG. 2.

Thus, in the free state, hook 37 is inclined downwardly at a slightangle of about toward axis VA and hook 38 converges toward axis VA at anangle of about 4. However, in the installed state, each hook 38 isdisplaced from its free state plane PL-3 to be substantially vertical,and the other hook 37 is displaced from its free state plane PL-2 to besubstantially horizontal. Resultantly, the rail is held to the tie byspring tension, the spring force being exerted by the nadir or lowpoints of the terminal bights of the two fasteners, and sufficientstressing of the tie protuberance is involved as to prompt an unusualway of reinforcing the protuberances, and the main body of the tietherebetween as well, as will now be explained.

The reinforce 20, FIGS. 1 and 6, is in the form of a grid or grill ofrod form and is defined by a plurality of stringers 50 joined by crossribs 51 as by welding the cross ribs to the stringers 50. Thereinforcing grid is of symmetrical form at its ends, somewhatcomplemental to the protuberance 26, and in keeping with this conceptthe stringers include end stringers 50-1, FIG. 7, intermediate stringers502, and medial stringers 50.3. The stringers are bent in an unusual wayas will be described in detail, such that in their undeveloped or unbentform the cross ribs 51 are displaced considerably from the free ends ofthe stringers. Thus, each stringer has a downward bend 52 therein, FIG.7, and a rearward bend 53 as well, such that the stringers have terminalextensions 54 lying beneath an extending parallel to the portions of thestringers 50 lying between the cross ribs 51. Such multiple bending ofthe end portions of the stringers outward of the ribs 51 results in eachstringer having a downwardly extending leg respectively identified as52-l, 52-2, and 52-3, FIG. 6, noting that the vertical legs thuspresented are of progressively longer length proceeding inward from theend stringer 50-1 to the medial stringer 50-3. In like fashion theterminal extensions 54 are of progressively shorter length, 54-1, 54-2and 543.

The free end of each stringer is bent downwardly at 55 to afford a hook,and as shown in FIG. 1 selected ones of the hooks 55 may be associatedin hooked engagement with the reinforcing rods R which extend at rightangles to the stringers 50.

As already noted, the portions of the stringer outward of the cross-barsor ribs 51 present something of the complement of each tie protuberance26 to be reinforced thereby, so that the longest legs of the stringers,52-3, FIG. 2, occupy the thickest part of the protuberance, and the thebends in the stringers, 52 and 53, are within the protuberance.

While I have illustrated and described a preferred embodiment of theinvention, it is to be understood that variations and modifications maybe nonetheless made without departing from the principle of theinvention.

I claim:

1. In a concrete tie for supporting rails, protuberances of concretecast integral with the tie and projecting outward from opposed facesthereof, each protuberance serving as an anchor for a spring-type railfastener tensioned thereon, and a reinforce for the protuberances whichboth reinforces the protuberances and the main body of the tietherebetween, said reinforce including a plurality of parallel stringerseach having a downward bend defining a leg, the stringers being joinedby cross ribs displaced inward from the bends of the stringers, thelower end of each leg having a rearward bend presenting a terminalextension underlying the portion of the stringers between the ribs, andthe bends in the stringers being embedded in the protuberances.

2. A concrete tie according to claim 1 in which the legs of adjacentstringers are of different length, and in which the terminal extensionsare of different length.

3. A tie according to claim 2 in which the legs and terminal extensionsof adjacent stringers are of progressively different length.

4. A concrete tie according to claim 2 having reinforcing bars extendingtransverse to said reinforce stringers, and selected of terminalextensions of the stringers having ends hooked to said rods.

1. In a concrete tie for supporting rails, protuberances of concretecast integral with the tie and projecting outward from opposed facesthereof, each protuberance serving as an anchor for a spring-type railfastener tensioned thereon, and a reinforce for the protuberances whichboth reinforces the protuberances and the main body of the tietherebetween, said reinforce including a plurality of parallel stringerseach having a downward bend defining a leg, the stringers being joinedby cross ribs displaced inward from the bends of the stringers, thelower end of each leg having a rearward bend presenting a terminalextension underlying the portion of the stringers between the ribs, andthe bends in the stringers being embedded in the protuberances.
 2. Aconcrete tie according to claim 1 in which the legs of adjacentstringers are of different length, and in which the terminal extensionsare of different length.
 3. A tie according to claim 2 in which the legsand terminal extensions of adjacent stringers are of progressivelydifferent length.
 4. A concrete tie according to claim 2 havingreinforcing bars extending transverse to said reinforce stringers, andselected of terminal extensions of the stringers having ends hooked tosaid rods.